Hose-coupling.



E. H. GOLD. HOSE GOUPLING. APPLICATION FILED APR.10, 1902';

Patented Feb. 8,1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

EQH. GOLD. HOSE COUPLING. APPLICATION FILED APE.10,1902.

Patented Feb. 8,1910.

2 ensueammi 2.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, E'GBERT I-I. GOL a,

- carsof the train, but'is a coupling where similar service condit onsf UNITED STATES TENT oniucn.

nennn'r H. com), or omcaeo; ILLINOIS.

Pillow-COUP NG.

citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hose-Couplings, of

which the followin is a specification.

My invention re ates more especially to means for coupling together between cars the sections of hose constituting the ends" of the train pipes at each end of railway cars,

through which steam for heating purposes is conducted from the'enginfl the difielrient apta e to any ose exist.

In particular,-my invention relates to what is commonly called the. Sewall type of hosecoupler. This type of hose coupler, as-

clearly illustrated in thedrawings, 1s a direct port, gravity coupler, in which the complementary halves of the coupler are caused to co-engage'by a downward, swin ing move ment, and each half of the'coup e'r'is pro-. vided with an upwardly projecting member, usually in the form of a'nip le, to which aflexible hose is attached, so t iat when, from any cause, the slack in the flexible hose betweenthe car endsis taken up and the hose approaches a horizontal position, the result:

in'g-pull on these upwardly projectin'gvmem hers, or nipples, which tends to bring such nipples toward a horizontal position,.w1ll

result in automatically uncoupling the complementary coupling members. As was com-' monly known in this art, long prior to the date of this application, a primer pur ose of such construction is to provi e a in case the cars of a train shallseparate,

either from pulling out of the draw-heads, or from any other cause, or which shall automatically uncouple in case the cars are sep a'rated but the uncoupling of the hosecoup-' ler has been overlooked, thereby preventing any rupture of the hose, or' other lnjury to the apparatus connected therewith. I In practice, however, it has been found that fre-c been sufllcient to cause the automatic un-' coupling of the hose coupler while a train-is.

running between stations, f ereby causing waste of steam, interfering with the heating 7 Specification ref Letterslatenti '.P .App1icationfi1ed-Apri1 10, .1902. s riairt;

ose' coupler which will automatically uncouple,. 40

systemof the train and: causing other damage and ann'oyance- Theprimary-object'of my present invention is to prevent such acci'dental uncoupling of a coupler ofthis type, while at the same ,tim'enot interfereing with: the normal, automatic uncouplingactlonof'the coupler under conditions of extreme strain such as from any cause. This and such other-objects as may hereafter appear are attained ,by my invention, a convenient embodiment of whichis illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in'which Figure 1 is a side elevation of my im proved cou ling. Fig. 2 is a plan view of a portion of; ig. 4. Fig. 3 is across-sectional view, on the ine 3-3 of Fig. 4, looking in the direction indicated by thearrows; and 4 is a side elevation ofa Sewall type of train-pipe coupling, fitted with my locking devicea Like letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several'figures of the drawings.

Referring: by letter to the accompanying drawings, A, B, are the complementary halves, respectively, of a train-pipe coupling of the direct port, gravity, or Sewall type. Each half'of the couplin' shown is'provided withan undercut lu upon one side of the body of the coup and .with an arm .D, carryi an undercut ug E, on the opposite side 0 the body ofj-the coupling, which lug E on each arm D engages the lug C upon the opposite or. complementary half of the coupler, thereby clamping the coupling hose together. Ordinar1ly, 1n co upling a coupl'erof this type, the halves of the coupler are brought-together with the u wardly projecting. nipp es a insay a su stan-tially horizontal- ,positionf'the coupler halves beingbroughttogether adjacent to -their lower-edges ;-whei'eupon, with a downward,z.swinging'movement, the lugs E on the .couplerhangs by gravity between .the cars; at the-bottom. of the loop formed by the coupler "and :the adjacent flexible. hose ing ,in 1 a substantiallyhori'zontal position and the nipples a pro ect' diagonally upward. Tll1 S' position ofte cou ler is a matter of common knowledge in this art, and

will; understood from F-ig. 1, in which the atentear'eb; s,1a1o..

arises when two cars of a' train are separated the arms 1) are hooked oven the lugs C on Y the bodyportion of the coupler, whereupon.

1'05 sections'toi'yvhich 'is-coupled the wellknown manner, the body of the coupler be parts are shown in partially coupled position; Consequently, in uncoupling, the operation is reversed and, a s incident to such uncoupling, the nipples a are swung down-,

5 wardlytowa-rdahorizontal 'osition. Therefore, when there is a straight pull on the -hose connected with the" nipples,- as when -;cars are separated, the apparatus will auto;- matically uncouple. This is all clearly shown and applied, it is not essential to the auto- 4 matic uncoupl'in 'f'o'f the dey-icefihat connecting hose she! b absolutely reer- Gonsequently, when the slack injthe g 'le hose is partially taken up, as, tor-example; when the train is pa sing over reverse-curves and the rear endofo'ne car swings ietemhy in one direction, while the forward end of the other oer-swings laterally in thepthe'r direct'ion, the upwardly -p'ro'jee'ti-"ng nipples on the coupler are pulled suifieienfl toward the horizontal to cause the device romeo-me ica'llyiincoup'le. Such uncoupling i nctthe intended or normal operation :o'f the device, I hut is distinctly in the nature 'of'an accidental nncou ling. To prevent the acci dental uncou ing, it provide the lock shown in Figs. sun 4. This lockfin the'einbodimeritv shown in "the drawings, consists of a locking pin J, provided with'an arm 7', and -inounted within a transverse recess K in the coupling. This recess is so located that when the coupling members are clamped togfether or coupled, the pin J projecting from t e 'necessK will enga e'the upper. edge of the arm D of thecou' 151g. The lockingpin J is normally force --outwa rdly into a position 'te lock with the arm D, by means its rotation within the recess K, Extending" at an angle to the slot is, and connecting therewith, adjacent to the rear end thereof,

is a slot N ofsuch a size as to receive the arm 7'. When constructed in this form, the

pin J may be retracted to the position shown in Fig. 3 and,being rotated axially by means of the arm 7', saida'rm 7' will be thrown more or less completely out of the slot is and into the slot -N,'as shown in Fig. '2. 'It willthus be seen that the slot N may beused as a catch to engage the arm 7' and hold the pin J in unlocked; position. When the. coupling has been completed, the pin J may be releasedby disengaging the 1' from the slot N, whereupon the pin-J will "be thrown outwardly by thespring L and into lockin "the Sewah patent No. 363,553. But, as previouslynoted, as ordinarily eonstructed of a s ring L which is secured within the ing engagement with :the arm D. However, if preferred, the pin J may be provided with a short, inclined face at the upper side :Of'd'tS forward end, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, in which event the pin J may be first released, that is, before coupling the coupler memberstogether, andthen, as the coupling nle'r'ribers are hr'o "ht into coupling engagement, the under geof the arm D will engage'this inclined 'o'r wedged face, thereby automatically forcing the pin J ba'ckward .siiificiently to allow the-arm D to pass to coupled-positidn, whereuponthe 'pin -J will be immediately iorcedpy thespring L back int-o its locking position and in engagement with the side oi? the arm D. In case, howevei, ;o' any trouble with the locking devicefithe arm 7' supplies a-convenientmeans whereby the locking pin J may be manually rt-racted,'or whereby a tool may be applied to force the locking pin'J backwardly.

Ijalso preferably provide the under face of the forward end 615 the 'pin J with a long, -inclined face, which, as shown, ext-ends backwardly at such an angle that any-ordinary upward pressure of the Ea'rmD against said face, willfnot tend to fierce the pin -J backwardly, but, on the contrary, the combined action of the sprin -wand this long,

inclined face will-he to 'co'nst. tly wedge the pin J against the u per facelof the -211'l2'1 *D and normallyhold the coupling in a tightly locked position at all times, ,t'hereby mini lugs-of the coupling members-which wonl result from orJgive rise to lostt-inotioln-anch preventing the-automatic uncoripling of the device under anything less thaii an extreme tension, suclnfor example, as that which results when the cars are separated, when, of course, the 'hoseluttached to the coupler is subjected .to great strain, with resulting danger" of rupture to the hose 'or of damage to some connected part but for theautoma'tic uncoupling action of the device.

Inasmuch as in practical service these coupling members must be coupled to ether manually, there should, o'it course e no great resistance or interference with "this coupling action, and the inclined iacefion the 'upper-*-e'nd of the locking -J s'hoiiid extend, therefore, at'such an ang'le that, while 'iti'serves to permit of' the automatic foreing backwardly of the Pin J in the coupling operation, it "should not offer such resistance has to delay the trainme'n in making the -.i-ou pli ng. On the other hand,"the resistance ofier'ed by the inclined face on the under sidirofthe p" J should be such as to resist 'anyttensiofiwhich, in the operation of'the 12E train, ivoiild'tend to accidentally separate the coiiplin'g'. members, as previously explained. 3. lnas'muh as the proper ordinary construction and-epplicatinn of thes'e coupf co.u ple, -Jit as: againstmy look, but whenever. th' e cars areotherwise uncoupled, the strain two of a trainv orfthe; separation of the 1 cars for any. other purpose, is an impositive ;;l.ock, and, therefore, my: invention efficiently prevents the automatic uncoupling of the jecting wing adapted to overlap and engage with a similar body-portion ofa compleone member of the coupler and movable prising reciprocal coupling members hav 6O bin cars, remain othe wise coupled togetjier, the

rarspull apart will overcome theresistance form, it will be understood that the form ling devices, it should be impossible for any movement of the cars in the operation of the train to wholly take up the slack of the steam hose between the cars so 1on as-the .couplergcannotunder such conditions be put ilmdersnfiicienttension to automatically unto. w11-ich1,.thecoupling. ;islsubjected as the of my lock and'lpermit'the couplingto uncouple in the normal-and intended manner. It will thus be seen that my invention. provides a, lock, which, under normal conditions, is, for all practical purposes, a posiztive lock, but which, as. against thebreaking apparatus sol longas the'cars are otherwise coupled togethenand thus entirely avoids the danger-of uncoupling; V

While I have shown my invention embodied in what I consider its preferred shown simply shows one convenient embodiment which serves to illustrate and explain the principle of my invention, -which is, however, not limited to such specific embodiment, but is broadly set forth in the claims hereto-attached. i.

I claim:

1. A hose coupler having a body;portion provided on one side with a forwardly promentary coupler, and having also a spring pin in the body-portion located in line with a wedging surface formed onthe projecting wing of the complementary coupler whereby the pin exerts a wedging action on the said wing to maintainit in its engaging position.

.2. A Sewall typey'direct port, gravity coupler, provided with a longitudinally movable spring-pressed latch mounted on mg each. a head with an external looking arm on one side and an external locking rojection on the opposite side,- comed with .a spring latch on one member adapted to engage the opposite member, there being two pairs of engaging faces on site member,

, resist, but not to said member-and latch, one of the engaging faces of one pairbeing inclined, where by the said latch is automatically forced back in the operation of coupling, and one of the engaging faces of the other pair betransverse to the direction of movement of the members in coupling and uncoupling,

whereby the spring pressure tends to force the members in the direction of coupling after the coupling is made. V 4. A direct port, gravity coupling comprising reciprocal coupling members having each ahead with a locking arm. on one side and a locking projection on the opposite side, combined with a spring latch on one member adapted to engage the oppothere being a palr of engaging faces on said latch and the member which it engages, of which one is inclined, and both of which are transverse to the direction" of movementof the heads in coupling and uncou ling, whereby the spring pressure tends to orce the heads in the direction of coupling after the coupling is made. p

5, A direct port, gravity coupler comprising inclined and both of said faces being ing reciprocal coupling members having.

each a head with a locking arm eon one sideand a locking projection on the opposite side, and supplemental means adapted to prevent the disengagement of the members of said coupler, said means comprising a spring latch on one member adapted to enage the opposite member, the engaging faces being so inclined, respectively, that the spring pressure upon said latch tends to wedge the locking projections into closerengagement. V

. 6. A direct port, gravity hose coupler for railway cars having'a locking arm on.0ne side and a locking projection on the o posite side adapted to couple with its reciprocal coupler by a downward, swinging movement, and to automatically uncouple with an upward movement by the tautening of the hose as the cars draw apart, combined llO with auxiliary locking means arranged to p, prevent, the uncoupling movement oftlije members 7 A direct port, gravity hose coupler for railway cars, having a locking arm on one side and a locking projection on the opposite side, adapted to couple with its reciprocal coupler by a downward, swinging movement with an up and to automatically uncoup e of the coupling.

Ward movement by the t'autenin of the hose as the cars draw apart, comblned with'a spring latch impositively enga 'ng'the -re;

clprocal coupler and reslsting, ut venting, the uncoupling movement. a

8. A direct port, gravity hose-coupler for railway cars, comprisin reciprocally-engaging heads having loc ing means comprising alu on one side of each head and an arm on e opposite side formed with a not pre hook for engaging the lug on the other head,

adapted in cooperation with said locking means to resist the uncoupling movement sufficiently to prevent accidental uncoupling but not sufficiently to prevent automatic uncoupling, as the cars draw apart.

9. A direct port, gravity hose-coupler for railway-cars, comprising reciprocally-engaging heads having locking means comprising a lug on one side of each head and an arm on the opposite side formed with a hook for engaging the lug .on the other head, adapted to couple by a downward, swinging movement, to hold the heads coupled against internal pressure during normal running, and to uncouple automatically with an upward movement by the tautening of the hose as the car's draw apart,

combined with an auxiliary spring latch on one head impositively engaging the other head to resist the uncoupling movement, and adapted to be displaced by said movement against the stress of its spring.

10. A direct port, gravity hosevcouple'r having locking means comprising a lug on one side of its head and on the other side a hooked locking arm adapted to engage such lug on a mating coupler, combined with an auxlliary impositive spring latch engaging the opposite head, the engaging faces being relatively shaped to press back said latch against the stress of its spring during the uncoupling movement, and said latch adapted in cooperation with said locking means to resist the uncoupling movement 7 sufiiciently to preventiaccidental uncoupling, but not sufficiently to prevent jautomatic uncoupling as the'cars draw apart. EGBER'JE H. GOLD. Witnesses;

M. E. SHIELns, O. R. BARNETT. 

